“If it were me, as that innocent person…”

“I wouldn’t be willing!”

Without the slightest hesitation, gazing into those exceptionally captivating, yet at this moment unusually obedient peach blossom eyes before her, An Ning decisively and firmly spoke her mind.

In fact, this was truly what she thought.

Whether it’s selfishness or something else, no matter what the stakes are on the other side, no matter how many times, her answer would always be the same.

“Hee hee, then Yi’er wouldn’t be willing either!”

Hearing An Ning’s answer, the red-robed youth beside her reacted almost instantly. He hurriedly sat down obediently by her side, tilted his face up, and answered with a giggle.

An Ning nodded in satisfaction.

As usual, when the little friend gave a satisfactory answer, he deserved a reward. An Ning was not stingy in the slightest, pulling out the spirit wine she had personally brewed earlier.

A young man in his twenties should be old enough to drink. As an alchemist, An Ning’s wine-brewing skills were also exceptional. The wine, brewed from century-old spirit fruits and various spiritual medicines, instantly filled the entire small courtyard with rich spiritual energy and an overwhelming aroma of fine wine the moment the lid was opened.

Unsurprisingly, upon smelling the fragrance, the young man’s eyes lit up more than a few degrees. His little nose subconsciously sniffed vigorously in the air:

“Is this a new variety Aunt has been working on recently?”

“Ah, Aunt, I’m already so grown up, and you still always give out prizes like I’m a child, how embarrassing!”

Even as he said this, it didn’t stop this fellow’s eyes from shining brightly. Happily taking out a jade cup, he trotted over eagerly to pour wine into both their cups, then quickly had the attendant bring some side dishes to his liking.

He looked just like a cheerful, big red butterfly constantly fluttering about.

An Ning couldn’t help but click her tongue.

That night, the moonlight was at its peak, and the fragrance of flowers in the courtyard mingled with the aroma of wine, creating an exceptionally pleasant atmosphere.

After a few small drinks, Xiao Yi summoned Qingyao again and, on a sudden whim, began to dance with the sword quite vigorously within the small courtyard.

To be honest, a proper sword cultivator was indeed extraordinary; even sword dancing was performed with exceptional grace and beauty. Sitting amidst the flowers, sipping her wine, An Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation in her eyes.

Especially since the red-robed youth before her had a fluid figure, not to mention his proper, slender posture. Perhaps because his mind was clear and at peace at this moment, his movements were particularly unrestrained and free.

She even felt that after tonight, his cultivation could advance another level.

It wasn’t until the moon reached the treetops that the small gathering in the courtyard finally dispersed completely. Even then, before leaving, Xiao Yi, with slightly flushed cheeks and already somewhat tipsy, didn’t forget to happily stuff the unfinished “reward” into his jade storage container before staggering away.

“*Hic~* Aunt, don’t forget to rest early!”

Seeing him like this, An Ning, who remained perfectly composed, responded with a sound of disdain.

Tsk, some people truly love to drink. It’s a pity, they also truly can’t hold their liquor…

After a simple wash-up, just as An Ning, humming a little tune, leisurely returned to her room, the system inside her spiritual sea couldn’t help but pop out, full of worry:

“Ah, host, how much of what he said just now do you think is true?” If it really came to that, could this guy really resist sacrificing himself?

Thinking of the previous life, the system still felt uneasy.

Importantly, it could see that although the little one in this life was greatly influenced by its host and hated being taken advantage of the most, that underlying, indelible kindness in his heart was still present.

“Don’t worry, this time, he absolutely won’t…”

Compared to the blindly worried system, An Ning was unusually certain at this moment.

“Besides, didn’t he just promise?” In the darkness, a woman’s voice tinged with laughter could be heard.

“Huh? Pro… promised?”

“Were you two talking about that just now?”

“What else!” An Ning gave it an amused sideways glance: “Otherwise, would your host here bring up such a matter for no reason?”

“Moreover, with Yi’er’s understanding, if he hadn’t sensed something was wrong at the time, why would he suddenly deliberately hide such a big matter from his aunt these past days?”

Thinking of the child’s expression earlier, An Ning was especially certain at this moment.

The sacrifice in the previous life was never a spur-of-the-moment decision. From the very beginning, or very early on, this Child of Destiny, this once-in-a-millennium cultivation and formation path genius, had already known the method to seal the demon domain.

“So, in the years that followed…”

The system couldn’t help but pause for a moment, suddenly remembering that even earlier, before A-Yi’s identity was exposed, his reputation ruined, reviled and slandered by everyone, with various forces growing restless…

Even after being forced to kill his master with his own hands, for a long time afterward, he hadn’t considered sacrificing himself. He was only constantly trying to find ways to complete the formation. If he had realized it from the start…

“So Yi’er he…”

The system suddenly felt sad.

In the quiet stillness, An Ning’s voice also became exceptionally soft, yet exceptionally clear:

“Yes, even in the previous life, right up until the moment before the barrier shattered, A-Yi was still striving to survive…”

In the end, it wasn’t that he wanted to die, but that there was truly no other way…

Within the spiritual sea, the system fell completely silent.

Seeing it like this, leaning back on the couch, An Ning, for once, smiled. Channeling her spiritual energy, she completely dispelled the dampness from her hair:

“Don’t worry, not only will we not reach that point in this life, but even if we truly faced the same situation as the previous life, when it came to the real choice, Yi’er would absolutely choose to live himself!”

Some people are like that; as long as there is a sliver of hope, or a trace of warmth before them, they will cling to it tightly.

Unsurprisingly, the Xiao Yi before her was exactly like this, just like the few pieces of broken candy he had carefully hidden away when they first found him.

That being said, just in case, the system had been particularly alert recently, wishing it could monitor these people’s actions at all times.

“But this time, tsk, that guy surnamed Yan is quite obedient!”

He said he’d go rally people, and he went all out to rally people, not caring at all about being looked down upon or cursed at. Unlike the previous life, where knowing his disciple was capable—good heavens, the demon domain, such a huge matter—all became the little disciple’s fault!

“Can’t be helped. Who let neither her nor Yi’er be very familiar with him in this life!”

“And didn’t you notice, system? Towards people with whom he has only a general acquaintance, this one actually doesn’t place excessively high hopes!”

Putting away the incomplete scroll in her hand, An Ning’s tone was natural. Unconsciously placing overly high demands on those close to you is by no means limited to a small number of people.

System: “…”

Heh, what’s this called? Blaming the Child of Destiny from the previous life for being too close and too obedient?

Even the system was somewhat speechless at this point.

However, several days later, what was even more speechless came later. After discovering something was wrong, the Ling Shu Sect did indeed send people to investigate. However, the result was that righteous path conferences were held again and again, and in the end, they only united to add layer upon layer of what it considered to be incredibly fragile magic formations on the outside.

And directly forbade outsiders from entering…

It’s… it’s over, that’s it?!

These people, do they even understand the power of an ancient sealing formation? One with the heavenly dao’s blessing, no less! Even it was broken. These formations probably wouldn’t hold for a second when the time comes.

System: “…”

It has to be said, at this moment, the system was greatly confused, particularly shocked, and finally understood:

“Ah, this world, no wonder the Child of Destiny got screwed to death in the previous life!”

It seems gathering the strength of all parties is probably, tsk! However, turning its head, it saw its host writing something on a message talisman.

“Oh right, host, what are you doing?”

“Of course, looking for people who are more anxious than us?”

Finally, she specifically called her little nephew over:

“Oh, by the way, Yi’er, with such a big matter happening recently, that Sect Leader Nangong should logically make an appearance, right?”

After doing all this, An Ning finally lay back down on the couch:

Hah, righteous path or evil path, not wanting to work, not wanting to sacrifice… wishful thinking!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep